THE CHAPARMUKH-SILGHAT RAILWAY LINE AND THE KATAKHAL-LALABAZAR 
RAILWAY LINE (NATIONALISATION) ACT, 1982 
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 
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SECTIONS 

1.  Short title. 
2.  Definitions. 

CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY 

CHAPTER II 

ACQUISITION OF THE UNDERTAKINGS OF THE TWO SPECIFIED COMPANIES 
3.  Transfer to, and vesting in the Central Government of the undertakings of the two specified 

companies. 

4.  General effect of vesting. 
5.  Owners of the two specified companies to be liable for certain prior liabilities. 

6.  Payment of amount. 
7.  Interest. 

CHAPTER III 

PAYMENT OF AMOUNT 

CHAPTER IV 

DUTY OF PERSONS IN CHARGE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE UNDERTAKINGS OF THE TWO SPECIFIED 
COMPANIES TO DELIVER ALL ASSETS, ETC. 
8.  Duty of persons in charge of management of the undertakings of the two specified companies to 

deliver all assets, etc. 

9.  Duty of persons to account for assets, etc., in their possession. 

CHAPTER V 

MISCELLANEOUS 

10.  Act to have overriding effect 
11.  Penalties. 
12.  Offences by companies 
13.  Protection of action taken in good faith. 
14.  Delegation of powers 
15.  Power to make rules. 
16.  Power to remove difficulties. 

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THE CHAPARMUKH-SILGHAT RAILWAY LINE AND THE KATAKHAL-LALABAZAR 
RAILWAY LINE (NATIONALISATION) ACT, 1982 

ACT NO. 36 OF 1982 

[17th August, 1982.] 

An  Act  to  provide  for  the  acquisition  of  the  undertakings  of  the  Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway 
Company Limited in relation to the Chaparmukh-Silghat Railway Line and the undertakings 
of the Katakhal-Lalabazar Railway  Company  Limited in  relation to  the Katakhal-Lalabazar 
Railway Line with a view to securing the efficient operation of the said Railway lines so as to 
subserve  the  needs  of  the  north-eastern  areas  of  India  and  to  protect  the  links  of 
communication between the said areas and the rest of the country and for matters connected 
therewith or incidental thereto. 

WHEREAS  the  Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway  Line  owned  by  the  Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway 
Company Limited and the Katakhal-Lalabazar Railway Line owned by the Katakhal-Lalabazar Railway 
Company Limited, are vital communication links between the north-eastern areas of India and the rest of 
the country; 

AND WHEREAS the said Railway Lines are integrated with the metre gauge system of the contiguous 

North-East Frontier Railway; 

AND WHEREAS the condition of assets of the aforesaid companies has reached such a stage that it may 

not be possible to operate train services for long on the railway lines owned by them; 

AND WHEREAS it is necessary to secure the efficient operation of the said Railway lines; 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 

CHAPTER I 

PRELIMINARY 

1.  Short  title.—This  Act  may  be  called  the  Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway  Line  and  the                

Katakhal-Lalabazar Railway Line (Nationalisation) Act, 1982. 

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

(a) “appointed day” means the day on which this Act comes into force; 

(b) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette; 

(c) “specified company” means a company specified in clause (d); 

(d) “two specified companies” means,— 

(i)  the  Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway  Company  Limited,  being  a  company  as  defined  in       

the  Companies  Act,  1956  (1  of  1956)  and  having  its  registered  office  at  12,  Mission  Row, 
Calcutta; and 

(ii)  the  Katakhal-Lalabazar  Railway  Company  Limited,  being  a  company  as  defined  in  the 
Companies  Act,  1956  (1  of  1956)  and  having  its  registered  office  at  Mcleod  House,  3,  Netaji 
Subhash Road, Calcutta; 

(e) “undertakings” means,— 

(i) 

in 

relation 

to 

the  Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway  Company  Limited, 

the                 

Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway  Line  and  all  other  undertakings  of  that  company  relating  to  that 
Railway line; 

(ii) in relation to the Katakhal-Lalabazar Railway Company Limited, the Katakhal-Lalabazar 

Railway line and all other undertakings of that company relating to that Railway line; 

(f)  words  and  expressions  used  herein  and  not  defined  but  defined  in  the  Companies                

Act, 1956 (1 of 1956) shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act. 

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ACQUISITION OF THE UNDERTAKINGS OF THE TWO SPECIFIED COMPANIES 

CHAPTER II 

3. Transfer to, and vesting in the Central Government of the undertakings of the two specified 
companies.—On  the  appointed  day,  the  undertakings  of  each  of  the  two  specified  companies  and  the 
right, title and interest of each of the two specified companies in relation to such undertakings shall, by 
virtue of this Act, stand transferred to, and vest in, the Central Government. 

4. General effect of vesting.—(1) The undertakings of each specified company shall be deemed to 
include  all  assets,  rights,  lease-holds,  powers,  authorities  and  privileges,  and  all  property,  movable  and 
immovable,  including  lands,  buildings,  workshops,  stores,  instruments,  machinery  and  equipment,  cash 
balances,  cash  on  hand,  cheques,  demand  drafts,  reserve  funds,  investments,  book  debts  and  all  other 
rights and interests in, or arising out of, such property as were immediately before the appointed day in 
the ownership, possession, power or control of the specified company, whether within or outside India, 
and all books of account, registers and all other documents of whatever nature relating thereto. 

(2) All properties as aforesaid which have vested in the Central Government under section 3 shall, by 
force of such vesting, be freed and discharged from any trust, obligation, mortgage, charge, lien and all 
other  encumbrances  affecting  them,  and  any  attachment,  injunction,  decree  or  order  of  any  court 
restricting the use of such properties in any manner or appointing any receiver in respect of the whole or 
any part of such properties shall be deemed to have been withdrawn. 

(3) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the mortgagee of any property referred to in 
sub-section (2), or any other person holding any charge, lien or other interest in, or in relation to, any such 
property shall be entitled to claim, in accordance with his rights and interests, payment of the mortgage 
money  or  other  dues,  in  whole  or  in  part,  out  of  the  amounts  payable  under  sections  6  and  7  to  the 
specified  company  owning  such  property,  but  no  such  mortgage,  charge,  lien  or  other  interest  shall  be 
enforceable against any property which has vested in the Central Government. 

(4)  Any  licence  or  other  instrument  granted  to  a  specified  company  in  relation  to  any  undertaking 
which has vested in the Central Government under section 3 at any time before the appointed day and in 
force immediately before that day shall continue to be in force on and after such day in accordance with 
its tenor in relation to and for the purposes of such undertaking, and, on and from the date of vesting of 
such  undertaking  under  section  3  in  the  Central  Government,  that  Government  shall  be  deemed  to  be 
substituted in such licence or other instrument as if such licence or other instrument had been granted to 
that Government and that Government shall hold it for the remainder of the period for which the specified 
company would have held it under the terms thereof. 

5.  Owners  of  the  two  specified  companies  to  be  liable  for  certain  prior  liabilities.—(1)  Every 
liability of a specified company in respect of any period prior to the appointed day, shall be the liability of 
the specified company and shall be enforceable against it and not against the Central Government. 

(2) For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that,— 

(a) no liability of either of the two specified companies in relation to its undertakings in respect of 

any period prior to the appointed day, shall be enforceable against the Central Government; 

(b)  no  award,  decree  or  order  of  any  court,  tribunal  or  other  authority  in  relation  to  the 
undertakings of either of the two specified companies passed on or after the appointed day, in respect 
of any matter, claim or dispute, which arose before that day, shall be enforceable against the Central 
Government; 

(c) no liability incurred by a specified company before the appointed day, for the contravention of 
any provision of law for the time being in force, shall be enforceable against the Central Government. 

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CHAPTER III 

PAYMENT OF AMOUNT 

6.  Payment  of  amount.—(1)  For  the  transfer  to,  and  vesting  in,  the  Central  Government,  under 
section  3,  of  the  right,  title  and  interest  of  each  of  the  two  specified  companies  in  relation  to  its 
undertakings, there shall be paid in cash by the Central Government, before the expiry of a period of three 
months from the appointed day,— 

(i)  to  the  Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway  Company  Limited,  an  aggregate  amount  of  rupees  ten 

lakhs and fifty thousand; and 

(ii)  to  the  Katakhal-Lalabazar  Railway  Company  Limited,  an  aggregate  amount  of  rupees  nine 

lakhs. 

(2)  Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in  sub-section  (1),  out  of  the  amount  referred  to  in          

clause (i) of that sub-section, the Central Government shall deduct, in the first instance, any amount due 
from  the  Chaparmukh-Silghat  Railway  Company  Limited  to  that  Government  and  the  liability  of  that 
company shall, to the extent of such deduction, stand discharged and such deduction shall have priority 
over all other debts, secured or unsecured. 

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), out of the amount referred to in clause (ii) 
of that sub-section, the Central Government shall deduct, in the first instance, the amount due from the 
Katakhal-Lalabazar  Railway  Company  Limited  in  respect  of  the  secured  debentures  issued  by  that 
company and shall pay the sums so deducted for the redemption of such debentures and the liability of 
that company in relation to the said debentures shall, to the extent of such deduction, stand discharged and 
such deduction shall have priority over all other debts, secured or unsecured. 

7.  Interest.—The  amount  referred  to  in  clause  (i)  or  clause  (ii)  of  sub-section  (1)  of  section  6  as 
reduced by the deduction under that section, shall, if not paid to the company concerned before the expiry 
of the period specified in the said sub-section, carry simple interest at the rate of four per cent. per annum 
for  the  period  commencing  on  the  appointed  day  and  ending  on  the  date  on  which  payment  of  such 
amount as so reduced is made by the Central Government to that company: 

Provided that if the amount as so reduced is tendered to the specified company but not accepted by it, 

no interest shall run from the date of such tender. 

CHAPTER IV 

DUTY OF PERSONS IN CHARGE OF MANAGEMENT OF THE UNDERTAKINGS OF THE TWO SPECIFIED 
COMPANIES TO DELIVER ALL ASSETS, ETC. 

8. Duty of persons in charge of management of the undertakings of the two specified companies 
to  deliver  all  assets,  etc.—On  the  vesting  of  the  undertakings  of  the  two  specified  companies  in  the 
Central  Government,  all  persons  in  charge  of  the  management  of  the  undertakings  immediately  before 
such vesting, shall be bound to deliver to the Central Government all assets, books of account, registers or 
other documents in their custody relating to the undertakings. 

9. Duty of persons to account for assets, etc., in their possession.—(1) Any person who has, on the 
appointed day, in his possession or under his control any assets, books, documents or other papers relating 
to  any  undertaking  owned  by  a  specified  company  which  have  vested  in  the  Central  Government  and 
which  belong  to  the  specified  company,  or  would  have  so  belonged,  if  the  undertakings  owned  by  the 
specified company had not vested in the Central Government, shall be liable to account for the said assets, 
books, documents and other papers to the Central  Government and shall deliver them up to the Central 
Government or to such person or persons as the Central Government may specify in this behalf. 

(2) The Central Government may take or cause to be taken all necessary steps for securing possession 
of the undertakings of the two specified companies which have vested in the Central Government under 
this Act. 

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(3) The two specified companies shall within such period as the Central Government may allow in 
this behalf, furnish to that Government a complete inventory of all their properties and assets, as on the 
appointed day, pertaining to the undertakings which have vested in the Central Government under section 
3 and, for this purpose, the Central Government shall afford to the two specified companies all reasonable 
facilities. 

CHAPTER V 

MISCELLANEOUS 

10.  Act  to  have  overriding  effect.—The  provisions  of  this  Act  shall  have  effect  notwithstanding 
anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force or any instrument 
having effect by virtue of any law, other than this Act, or in any decree or order of any court, tribunal or 
other authority. 

11. Penalties.—Any person who,— 

(a) having in his possession, custody or control any property forming part of any undertaking of 
either  of  the  two  specified  companies,  wrongfully  withholds  such  property  from  the  Central 
Government; or 

(b) wrongfully obtains possession of, or retains any property forming part of any undertaking of 

either of the two specified companies; or 

(c)  wilfully  withholds  or  fails  to  furnish  to  the  Central  Government  or  any  person  or  persons 
specified  by  that  Government  any  document  relating  to  such  undertaking,  which  may  be  in  his 
possession, custody or control; or 

(d)  fails  to  deliver  to  the  Central  Government  or  any  person  or  persons  specified  by  that 
Government, any assets, books of account, registers or other documents in his possession, custody or 
control, relating to the undertakings of either of the two specified companies; or 

(e) wrongfully removes or destroys any property forming part of any undertaking of either of the 
two specified companies or prefers any claim which he knows or has reason to believe to be false or 
grossly inaccurate, 

shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine which may 
extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both. 

12.  Offences  by  companies.—(1)  Where  an  offence  under  this  Act  has  been  committed  by  a 
company,  every  person  who,  at  the  time  of  the  offence  was  committed,  was  in  charge  of,  and  was 
responsible to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall 
be  deemed  to  be  guilty  of  the  offence  and  shall  be  liable  to  be  proceeded  against  and  punished 
accordingly: 

Provided  that  nothing  contained  in  this  sub-section  shall  render  any  such  person  liable  to  any 
punishment, if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he had exercised 
all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any offence under this Act has been 
committed  by  a  company  and  it  is  proved  that  the  offence  has  been  committed  with  the  consent  or 
connivance of, or is attributable to any neglect on the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other 
officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall be deemed to be guilty of 
that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. 

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section,— 

(a) “company” means any body corporate and includes a firm or other association of individuals; 

and 

(b) “director”, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm. 

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13.  Protection  of  action  taken  in  good  faith.—(1)  No  suit,  prosecution  or  other  legal  proceeding 
shall  lie  against  the  Central  Government  or  any  officer  or  other  employee  of  that  Government  or  any 
officer  or  other  person  authorised  by  that  Government  for  anything  which  is  in  good  faith  done  or 
intended to be done under this Act. 

(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Central Government or any officer or other 
employee  of  that  Government  or  any  officer  or  other  person  authorised  by  that  Government  for  any 
damage  caused  or  likely  to  be  caused  by  anything  which  is  in  good  faith  done  or  intended  to  be  done 
under this Act. 

14.  Delegation  of  powers.—(1)  The  Central  Government  may,  by  notification,  direct  that  all  or            

any of the powers exercisable by it under this Act, other than the powers conferred by this section and 
sections  15  and  16  may  also  be  exercised  by  such  person  or  persons  as  may  be  specified  in  the  said 
notification. 

(2) Whenever any delegation of power is made under sub-section (1), the person to whom such power 

has been delegated shall act under the direction, control and supervision of the Central Government. 

15.  Power  to  make  rules.—(1)  The  Central  Government  may,  by  notification,  make  rules  for 

carrying out the provisions of this Act. 

(2) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it 
is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which 
may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the 
session  immediately  following  the  session  or  the  successive  sessions  aforesaid,  both  Houses  agree  in 
making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall 
thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that 
any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done 
under that rule. 

16. Power to remove difficulties.—If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this 
Act, the Central Government may, by order, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, remove the 
difficulty: 

Provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the appointed 

day. 

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